President and Co-Founder of the Women’s International Boxing Association, Ryan Wissow believes that the upcoming Shondel Alfred and Corrine DeGroot bantamweight rematch along with the Gwendolyn O’Neil and Carlette Ewell light heavyweight clash will be a historic event and he is also optimistic about the smooth running of the fights.
Alfred became Guyana’s seventh world champion last year when she gained a unanimous decision win against the ‘The Sexy Panther’ De Groot at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on the ‘Caribbean Fury’ card promoted by Stanford ‘King’ Solomon (S and S Promotions) and Carwyn Holland (Holland’s Entertainment Promotions).
O’Neil on the other hand in 2004 became the first female world champion for Guyana with her win over Kathy Rivers which earned the ‘Stealth Bomber’ the WIBA light heavyweight crown.
Stabroek Sport had previously reported that the meeting of the fighters was set for March and would be promoted by Holland who will be partnering with Elton Prospere, a US-based Guyanese, to stage the card.
In an e-mail to Stabroek Sport yesterday, Wissow stated that he was anxious to stage the card with Holland who he said is one of the best promoters he has worked with in the game.
“Carwyn hasn’t done me wrong yet. He is one of the best promoters I deal with, he is professional and a nice guy and I have full confidence in him. I’m not sure if the date has been finalized with the boxing board, but I know the fight will happen,” said Wissow.
The date Stabroek Sport understands should be March 27, but according to Wissow, it still has to be confirmed by the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) and he remains optimistic that they will cooperate fully.
“I believe the GBBC has to give their final approval on the March 27th date, but that shouldn’t be a problem. I have worked well with the GBBC, I like them, and I look forward to working with them again for this historic event,” the WIBA Co-Founder noted.
Meanwhile touching on the fight between Ewell and O’Neil, Wissow stated that the American who holds the WIBA and WIBC light heavyweight championships mentioned that she wouldn’t be stepping into the ring with an all-Guyanese team of judges.
“I have not yet discussed this with the GBBC, but I have to bring in at least two non-Guyanese judges for the Ewell-O’Neil fight because Ewell would not fight with all Guyanese officials, and she shouldn’t have to. I will bring these judges from Trinidad to keep costs down and Eion Jardine can be the referee,” Wissow said.
Ewell and O’Neil have met twice before – first on June 6, 2008 in St Maarten for the WIBA and WIBC light heavyweight titles which were held by O’Neil and the Guyanese retained her belts with a split decision.
They met five months later, again in St Maarten, but this time Ewell had the better of O’Neil. Judge Ferdinand Glasgow scored the fight 97-95, Joen Brison tipped it 98-96 and judge Jopie Williams had it 99-95 all in favour of Ewell who also took home the WIBA and WIBC titles which have since left O’Neil empty handed.
Meanwhile, Stabroek Sport was unable to obtain a comment from either Holland or Peter Abdool (GBBC President) but a source close to Holland’s Entertainment Promotions said that they are several areas of concern to be clarified with the Boxing Board before they make any further pronouncement on the card.
